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Web marketing refers to the process of promoting your business online, and it entails a wide range of advertising strategies and tactics. These include social media marketing, content marketing, search engine optimization, and other forms of marketing techniques. Web marketing’s primary goal is to introduce your brand or company to the millions of people using the internet daily.
The internet is one of the fastest-growing technologies of this age. According to reports, global internet users increased from only 413 million in the year 2000 to 3.4 billion in 2016. As of the third quarter of 2019, there were over 4.33 billion active internet users.
Since the current global population is 7.74 billion, simple math would place internet penetration at roughly 56 percent. In other words, more than half of the world is on the web.
As you can imagine, this high online population number presents a massive opportunity for marketers. Part of being a marketer involves connecting with people to promote specific goods and services.
Indeed, the internet is perfect for this.
Web marketing presents an opportunity for businesses to share their message with everyone on the web, including potential customers. It’s an efficient way to market your product or service to the right people.
In this article, we’ll consider the best online marketing strategies for businesses. First, let’s address an essential question.
Marketers use several online marketing methods to promote products and services. These include social media marketing, email marketing, search engine optimization, and search engine marketing. Other types of web marketing are:
Each of these internet marketing provides unique benefits to businesses. As a result, marketers often use them together.
Let’s explore further.
As the name implies, social media marketing involves gaining attention and sales through the use of social media platforms. These include Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, among others.
In 2019, an estimated 2.95 billion people were on various social media platforms worldwide. What’s more, this number is set to surge to almost 3.43 billion within the next three years.
Social media marketing is divided into two primary types; organic and paid.
This version is all about building and deepening relationships with your customers on social networking sites.
Along with inducing interest in a brand, this form of internet marketing promotes brand loyalty as well as authority. Also, it could improve your website’s ranking on search engines.
Some ways to use organic social media marketing for your business include:
Now, let’s talk about ads on social media.
Every social media platforms provide a unique paid promotional option for businesses.
For example, brands on Facebook can create a dedicated ad that’s tailored to their marketing objectives. Another option is to promote existing organic posts only.
Email marketing refers to the process of sending direct messages to people via email. Not only can this form of online marketing help retain old customers, but it’s also a great way to gain new ones.
Email marketing may be the least glamorous web marketing type on this list. But, you shouldn’t underestimate its effectiveness.
Here’s why.
More than half of us check our email before doing anything else online, with some doing it up to 20 times a day. It’s no wonder that email marketing ROI can get as high as 4,400 percent.
So, how exactly does email marketing work?
Before getting started, first, you must collect some email addresses through other forms of internet marketing. For example, you could use social media and content marketing to build up your list.
Another option is to use something called a lead magnet — an incentive to make customers share their email. It could be a discount coupon or a downloadable digital content like free tutorial video or eBooks.
After collecting the email addresses, you can work on engaging your subscribers with the relevant content.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the practice of increasing the quantity and quality of traffic to a website through organic search engine results. SEO is about understanding not just how search engines work, but how people use the internet and conduct online searches as well. An effective SEO strategy ensures that a page’s content matches the intent of the users. Meaning, it guarantees that your content will stay relevant to your target audience.
However, it’s worth noting that marketers almost always refer to Google when they’re talking about SEO, and for good reasons.
With over 90 percent market share in 2020, Google dominates the search engine market. What’s more, the search engine receives as much as 82,000 searches every second.
Here’s how SEO works.
Search engines crawlers collect and index information about all the contents they can find on the internet. So, whenever someone inputs a query, the search engine would try to provide the most relevant result.
Search engine optimization is divided into two sides: on-page and off-page SEO.
On-Page SEO is the practice of optimizing elements on a website — both content and HTML source code — to rank higher on Google. That way, your website can earn more relevant traffic for targeted keywords. Some examples of on-page SEO include:
For this reason, search engine optimization is closely linked with content marketing. But, that’s a topic for another subheading.
Off-page SEO refers to actions that a site owner takes outside of the website to impact rankings within the search engine result page (SERPs). These include external signals such as social media marketing, guest blogging, as well as linked and unlinked brand mentions. However, the most important off-page SEO practice is backlink building.
The reasoning is simple.
When a bunch of high authority websites links to your page, Google assumes you have relevant content that provides value. In turn, the association improves your ranking on the search engine.
One great way to get backlinks from authoritative websites is to create great content that readers would want to share. You could also write articles for other sites — guest posting — to build more backlinks.
In paid advertising, marketers pay to display products or services on search engines and other social media platforms such as Facebook. This form of web marketing is also referred to as pay-per-click (PPC), meaning advertisers pay a fee for every click on an ad. However, paid advertising extends beyond mere PPC. Payment methods vary based on the marketing objectives, and these include:
Google and Facebook are two of the most prominent digital advertising platforms today for paid advertising. Together, these companies account for 60 percent of all digital ad spend.
Also known as search engine marketing, paid advertising on Google involves bidding on the key terms that your ads would display for. For example, a law firm could bid for the keyword “asbestos lawyer.” So, the search engine will display your ads on search results every time someone searches for this keyword.
Content marketing is a form of internet marketing that focuses on creating, publishing, and distributing content for a targeted audience.
The aim is to attract, engage, and convert a target market into customers. To attain this goal, businesses often rely on various forms of content such as blog posts, videos, infographics, eBooks, etc.
Using these online materials, you can share helpful information with your audience until you establish yourself as an authority in your field. In turn, more people will trust your business and make more purchases.
Yes, the process takes time and lots of effort, but it’s worth it. Content marketing gets three times more leads than paid search advertising.
It’s an excellent way to build your business’s trust and authority while attracting valuable leads. That’s why 70 percent of marketers are actively investing in it.
With that said, content marketing is only effective when combined with other types of web marketing, such as social media marketing and SEO.
Before we delve into what influencer marketing means, the first question to ask is simple:
An Influencer could be anyone with a relatively large online following. Such individuals have the power to affect the purchasing decisions of others either because of their authority, knowledge, or position.
Influencers could be mainstream celebrities like Beyoncé or niche celebrities like world chess champion Magnus Carlsen. Also, it could include industry experts and authorities such as Neil Patel.
So, influencer marketing is a form of social media marketing that involves endorsements and product placements from influencers.
Here’s how to leverage this form of web marketing in your business:
As useful as influencer marketing is, it’s even more effective when you combine it with other online marketing types on this list.
Finally, let’s consider the best practices for a successful online marketing campaign.
Here are some tips for companies that are looking to promote their products on the internet.
According to Hubspot, message personalization is the number one tactic that email marketers use to increase engagement rates.
The reason is simple. People want to know that businesses appreciate and value them as customers. Personalizing messages, as well as the overall experience, shows your target market that you value their business.
Personalizing your online marketing campaign varies from adding each person’s name to an email or delivering tailored content. You could also provide information that’s relevant to your customer’s interest.
However, marketing automation remains one of the four most popular methods for creating personalized customer experiences.
This brings us to the next sub-heading.
Automation has become an essential part of digital marketing.
A recent report revealed that 80 percent of marketing automation software users saw an increase in the number of leads. Similarly, another 77 percent had an increase in conversions.
Some marketing automation tools you should use include:
Aside from helping you complete your task faster, using automation tools can eliminate the need to perform mundane tasks. That way, you can focus on other vital projects.
Your website is an essential part of your web marketing plan.
Whatever method you chose, the goal is to drive people back to your website to either make a purchase or learn more. As such, you must update the site regularly.
For example, you’re likely to lose leads when if visitors find your website design unappealing, outdated, or difficult to navigate.
So, when updating your website, consider a responsive design that adapts to the user’s device. Whether it’s a smartphone, a tablet, or on desktop, every user needs to enjoy the same positive experience.
Videos offer a powerful way to obtain leads and earn conversions for your business.
Eighty-seven percent of video marketers say video has increased traffic to their website. Meanwhile, 80 percent of video marketers say video has directly helped increase sales.
Not only does it serve as an interactive element to engage your audience, but videos also provide a quick way to share information.
Luckily, you can use this form of media across all your internet marketing channels. These include social media, email, and even Paid Advertising.
Remarketing provides a great way to reach out to interested leads that are yet to convert.
About 23 percent of shoppers who repeatedly saw a brand ended up making a purchase. However, the key is to continually present a specific product or service to a customer without annoying them.
Think of remarketing as a double-edged sword. While it can increase brand awareness, remarketing can also harm brand perception when mismanaged.
The cost of web marketing differs based on the type of marketing you’re doing, the objective, and the timeline. Another essential factor is the company size. For example, larger organizations usually have to optimize for larger websites compared to smaller businesses. As a result, they have a more significant online marketing budget.
Here’s a breakdown of how much internet marketing cost.
SEO freelancers typically charge an average of $68 per hour. In fact, a recent survey suggests that the cost of an SEO freelancer’s service varies from $41 to $50 per hour.
Similarly, an SEO consultant could charge between $75 and $100 per hour based on the project. Meanwhile, SEO agencies charge almost two to four times more, whether it’s a monthly retainer or per-project basis.
According to data, SEO agencies charge as much as $134.66 per hour on average.
A PPC campaign can run from $9,000 to $10,000 per month depending on your budget, the number of ads, and industry.
For example, industries such as legal services and insurance could cost as much as $30 to $40 per click on Google Ads. On the other hand, less competitive industries could require only a few cents per click.
Like other web marketing methods, the cost of content marketing depends on the size and scope of your company’s goals.
For instance, a complete site audit could cost anywhere between $5,000 to $25,000 monthly. Besides site audit, several other components of content marketing strategy can run up the cost. These include:
The cost of content marketing can quickly surge to as much as $50,000 per month depending on your business size, goals, and budget.
According to The Content Factory, the average cost of outsourcing social media services ranges from $4,000-$7,000 per month.
For example, setting up a Twitter account, including content creation costs an average of $2,000-$4,000 per month. Even if you already have an account, restructuring the page could cost up to $1,000-$2,500 monthly.
Facebook’s management pricing costs even more. Social media managers charge $2,500 to $5,000 per month to set up a Facebook account and provide limited ongoing training.
With that said, the pricing can vary based on the number of platforms and how many posts you want for your campaign.
The answer is obvious: use everything! These internet marketing types work best when used alongside others.
As more people spend a large chunk of their days online, online marketing becomes even more of a no-brainer. No, it won’t cost you much to get started, just an internet connection and a smartphone or laptop.
However, as your business expands, you may need to hire a digital marketing agency.
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Sumbo Bello is a creative writer who enjoys creating data-driven content for news sites. In his spare time, he plays basketball and listens to Coldplay.
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